Insole and method of making same



Patented Oct. 7, 1930 -U ITED-ewes iner, or orrroaoo rmrnors msoLii AND METZIOD OFMAKING sAMr:

Application filed August 8,1927, Serial No. 211,632. Renewed as so; 1930.

My invention relates toinsoles for shoes and to a method; for making the same. 7

7 Heretofore insoles have been made from such materials as "cork, leather; or sheep-skin.

Cork is sufficientlystiff to be self-supporting in the shoe but adds! little warmth andQdryness to the foot and; rather quickly deteriorates and becomes useless. I I are generally secured in the shoes by a suitable adhesive and in a sense constitute'a part Leather insoles thereot. Sheep-skin insoles are made with the leather flexible so that they have tobe secured in the shoes or else backed" by a stitl- 1 ening material to be self-supporting. They are too hot for ordinary wear causing excessiveperspiration with the result that the insole soon wrinkles and causes great discomfort. The space taken up in the shoe by the Wool is also Very great and this is a distinct disadvantage if an attempt is made to use sheep-skin in the ordinary dress shoe.

The principal object of my invention is the provision of an improved type of insole. Another ob]ect is to provide an insole pos sessing the advantages of both the cork and sheep-skin insoles but free from the disadvantages thereof.'

Another object is to providea fur insole" adapted to be self-supporting Within the shoe.

Another object is to produce an insole which Will not be affected by moisture.

. Another object is to produce an improved method of making an insole. v

My invention is embodied in the structure illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in

Fig. 1 is a plan View thereof; and

Fig. 2 is a side view of theinsole with a the flesh side of the skin, and b the fur or hair side. 1 1

The insole of my invention is produced from short haired raw hide tanned in such a Way asto make it stiff and waterproofed to prevent the absorption of moisture in the shoe. This insole is self-supporting Within t e S 10; and nedznot;beadhesively secui ed to the bottom thereofto hold. it in place. It

is thinxenough to be, Worn inthe ordinary dress ,shoe without discomfort and adds. greatly to v the comfort of thewearer from the Lstandpointbf the warmth imparted to the .feet ,by itsuse. Since it is selfrsupporting,

it can be placed in the shoe or taken-out at; i

meansofwhichlhave obtainedvery good V results in the production of insoles possessing the characteristics described.

i any time by the user thereof so that the shoe may easily and quicklybe fitted for the type The-first step is the selection of the proper skin. I have found thatI obtaingood results by usingany short haired hide, but the skin WhichI prefer is calf skin as the hairthereon is of substantially the proper, texture and seems to stay in better during the treatment thereof and after it is used as an insole. The skins are taken raw and partially scraped to removeth e surplus tissue from the underfsidejth'ereot. They are then subjected to a tanningioperation designed to cure. them sufii'h ciently to prevent deterioration but to result in a finalproductfwhich is nema not easily bent. To 'obtainthilseilect, Iliave ifound that an alum tanning process can be used'to great advantage. ,As anexample, I havefused six gallonsofwater in which I have dissolved two poundsof alum. and one pound of salt. ,This solutionwill tan .five or six medium sized skins l i When employing the.tanningsolution; it

must be kept cold to obtain the right results.

It .may be used with or without agitation;

With proper stirring; the skins will be sutfi- V ciently cured in about twelve hours. If they are leftstationary, the time will be as great as three; days. When the skins seem to be cured properlyg-a small piece should be cut from a skin and dried as a test piece. A very little bit of experience will soon indicate to an operator when the tanning has been carried on sufiiciently to obtain the effect desired.

When the curing of the skins is completed, they are stretched out on a flat surface in any suitable manner for drying, with the hair side faced against the surface to permit access to the underside of the hide.

The next step is waterproofing the skin. This can be done during the drying or after the drying of the skins has been completed. I have found that the best result is obtained if the hide is partially dry when the waterproofing treatment is applied. Various kinds of waterproofing materials may be employed depending upon the choice of the manufacturer. I have employed several different materials myself, with all of which I have obtained good results, but of course some better than others. The materials employed are wax, a mixture of wax and oil and shellac. I have obtained good results, by simply coating the surface of the skin with ordinary orange shellac. I have applied the wait on hot so that it penetrates the pores of the skin, and the wax'and oil mixture has been used in the same way.

The preferred manner in'carrying on this process is to treat the skin so as to obtain an absorption of the waterproofing material, and also coat the surface. For penetrating the flesh side, various waxes may be used but I have obtained the best results by applying hot shellac thereto with sufficient rubbing to obtain proper penetration The shellac is preferably added to only a small spot at a time and this spot properly treated until the shellac is well worked in. Then as a final treatment whenthe first coating of shellac has cooled, a top dressing of shellac or similar material is added. This may include not only shellac but if desired, any varnish, lacquer or similar coating which will impart a light glossy waterproof finish to the already impregnated hide.

\Vhen the treatment of the skins is completed, the insoles are cut or stamped therefrom. The insoles are meant to be used with the fur or hair side up and they may be marked as lefts and rights in this way for the guidance oflthe user;

In order to disclose to those skilled in the art, the manner in which my insoles may be made, Ihave described specific details of one process for producingthe same. It is obvious however, that some of the-steps may be changed or their order reversed and an insole of the general character described still produced. I do not restrict myself therefore, to the particular details pointed out but the invention is limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. As a new article of manufacture an insole formed of calf skin tanned to make the same stiff so that it will support itself against wrinkling in the shoe.

2. As a new article of manufacture an in- 3. As a new article of manufacture an insole formed of short haired skin, tanned stiff and coated with a waterproofing agent.

4. As a new article of manufacture an insole formed of short haired skin, tanned stiff and coated with shellac.

5. As a. new article of manufacture an insole formed of short haired skin, tanned stiff, impregnated with a waterproofing agent and coated with shellac on the fleshside.

6. As a new article of manufacture an insole formed of short haired skin, alum tanned to be stiff and self-sustainingin a shoe, impregnated 'with a waterproofing agent and coated with shellac on the flesh side.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe U 

